Much like “growth hacking”, “disruption” and “content is king”, “storytelling” has become something of a buzzword of late, bandied about by marketers and other communications professionals as the “latest” “in-thing” for brands to do.
Given the amount of hype generated by the genuine need for it in the marketplace, storytelling has also become a bandwagon of sorts, that brands jump onto for fear of their communications getting drowned out by their competitors.
So if brand storytelling is a way to make sure you stand out in an increasingly noisy marketplace, what do you do if your competitors are telling brand stories, too?
Think about it: if Nike, Adidas and Puma each have their own brand stories, who’s to say that your brand will be the only one in your vertical telling a story?
Storytelling Isn’t Enough
It follows, therefore, that it isn’t enough to simply engage in storytelling. The story you tell has to be able to connect with your audience in a way no other brand can—even if you are selling something that the competition is selling, too.
Easier said than done, we know, but it is possible.
Brand storytelling as defined by the Marketing Insider Group is using a narrative (i.e. a story) to connect your brand to customers. That story focuses on making it possible for you to relate your values with the values of your customers. When you and your customers have values in common, your customers become more likely to trust you and patronise your products.
There are many examples of successful storytelling even among brands that have yet to achieve Apple or Coca-Cola status. This tells us that you don’t have to own a huge, global brand to use storytelling to your advantage.
Because of the potential it has for growing your brand (and consequently, your business) crafting your own brand story should be done with utmost care and consideration. Knowing what your competitors are telling stories of their own should encourage you to take extra care.
Set Your Storytelling Apart
Here are a few pointers to help you get started on differentiating your storytelling from the competitions.
• Tell your own story. No two people are ever alike, even if they’re twins. When coming up with brands, business leaders and their marketing teams often personify them. They would ask questions like, “If your brand was a person, what would he or she be like? What would he say? What would she wear? What kinds of choices would he make?”, and so on.
In that respect, brands—or more specifically, the businesses that own them—are very much the same. Just as people each have their own histories and backgrounds (or backstories, if you will), so do brands. In telling the “back story” or history behind how your business got started or created your brand, you’ll be telling a story that will be unique to your brand alone.
In talking about creating authentic brand stories, Neil Patel mentions how North Face tells the story of its beginnings on a San Francisco beach, and how that back story ties in with the company’s values as a whole. This has allowed North Face to differentiate itself from Arc’teryx, Patagonia and scores of other outdoor clothing brands over the years.
• Talk about your values. In the multi-cultural world, we live in, it comes as no surprise that different people have different value systems—and this can be applied to corporate culture, as well. Two companies selling the same product may not necessarily have the same values, which means that talking about what your own company deems important can set you apart.
While speaking at the Singapore SME Centre for the Singaporean Indian Chamber of Commerce, author and business transformation architect, Ashok Miranda talked about how the founder of The Body Shop, Dame Anita Roddick, valued animal rights and environmental protection. These values shine through in every aspect of her brand and in her brand storytelling.
When talking about your brand values, move away from simply stating “mission-visionary” nouns like “innovation”, “collaboration” or “inclusiveness” and lean instead towards sharing how your brand puts those words into action.
If you value innovation and collaboration, for instance, you might talk about how your brand encourages team members and even customers to contribute new ideas. If you value inclusiveness, share a story about how your brand gave a chance to under-represented groups to participate in a certain event, and how you celebrated their contributions.
• Leverage your size. It’s easy to see how large companies like Starbucks or Ford can use their vastness to their advantage when it comes to storytelling. But what if you’re a smaller business or a brand new brand going head to head with giants in the same industry as yourself?
In an article on brand storytelling for e-commerce, Metrilo talks about how small woodworking tool company, John Neeman Tools carved a niche for itself in an industry dominated by the likes of Bosch and Black & Decker. John Neeman’s brand story focuses on how their small, but dedicated company preserves the skill and expertise of generations of Latvian craftsmen.
The edge that smaller brands have over their multinational counterparts is that it’s easier for a smaller company to communicate on a personal, local level with customers. It’s easier for a customer to feel that a smaller company cares versus, say, a bigger, faceless organisation that responds to your concerns with a robot or an obviously automated e-mail.
If you’re a relatively “underdog” brand, it will be up to you to craft and tell a brand story that will enable you to compete, not just against the top dogs but your fellow smaller brands. Don’t forget—these brands are just as hungry and hardworking as you, and are very likely to be working on their own brand stories, too.
The Foundations of Brand Storytelling course at SMU Academy will show you how to craft a compelling brand story and use digital channels to amplify it. You’ll also learn how to tell authentic, engaging stories, as well as how to adapt your storytelling approach to various audiences.
Entrepreneurs, communication managers, marketing executives and specialists, and advertising copywriters will gain invaluable insights from the course instructor, Ashok Miranda, an award-winning former Disney producer who has also worked with Sony Pictures. For full course details, schedules and registration, click or tap here.
